The Shmoopy DINKs in "Plussing the Weenie" -- now COMPLETE!

[Lady Lallie]

I feel like a just had a morning at Disney after reading your latest update! How cool that you can watch the parade and exclaim that you saw the back of Regis' head!

 

[girlbomb]

Hey Janice - excellent update! I too like to use WDW resort pens when I'm back in the real world - it's the little things...

We were in Disneyland a year ago in early November when we stumbled upon the Christmas Day special taping. Josh Grobin was actually singing Silent Night live as we walked toward the castle! Talk about surreal - we had no idea they were taping that day. It was awesome and added yet another layer to a magical day.

Looking forward to more!!

PPZ

Janice! Reading your trip report is like being there myself - I'm enjoying every second of it and I'm already worried about it being over!

I feel like a just had a morning at Disney after reading your latest update! How cool that you can watch the parade and exclaim that you saw the back of Regis' head!

Ladies, thank you so much for your encouragement! It's wonderful to feel such support from you. Thank you!

And, in other news...we just booked our Dec. 2009 trip!



I'm looking forward to getting another installment up tonight, before HOLIDAY MADNESS ensues. Hope you're all looking forward to a wonderful holiday, with minimal madness!

 

[girlbomb]

And finally, Day Two, I Swear This is the Last Part:

So we’ve just finished our excellent meal at Coral Reef – excellent not only for the food and atmosphere, but for the company (Shmoopy) and the conversation (the year past; the year ahead). It’s about 8:15 now, so we start to walk towards World Showcase to stake out a spot for Illuminations. We’ve never been able to find a good spot for this show, even with an hour lead time, but this year, I have Robo’s handy “good spots for viewing Illuminations” map memorized, and we’re ready to pounce on whatever we see. We quickly spy a few feet of unclaimed planter-ledge near the gift shop between the boat launches, and we claim it fast, as space all around us is already filled up.

It’s gone from temps in the high seventies to the low fifties, and Bill’s chilly, so we trade off holding the seats while the other browses the gift shop and warms up. I’m very content, after a day on my feet, to just sit and people watch and eavesdrop and revel in being here; happy, when Bill comes back to sit beside me, to hug him and rub his back to try and warm him up. Finally, it’s time for the show to begin, and we stand on our ledge, where we have a perfect view (even for me, the 5’2” shortie).

So, yeah! That’s an impressive show, there. With the exploding lake of fire, and the dramatic lights dancing around the lagoon, and the seventy million pounds of fireworks they blow up at the end. I wish it grabbed me the way Wishes does, but it kind of leaves me emotionally cold. There’s no question that it’s a technical tour de force, and I’m glad we finally got to see it in its entirety from a decent vantage point, but it doesn’t have the impact on me that other DISers have reported. It’s obviously an amazing show on a grand scale – I’ve just never been a fireworks fan (Wishes notwithstanding). My favorite part is watching the countries light up to the music, and of course it’s always astounding to watch Disney set a lake on fire.

We love our Earth! And we celebrate her with this propane inferno:

We are ready to hotfoot it out of the park as soon as the last KABOOM has kaboomed, but whoa! Where did all these other people come from? And how did they get ahead of us on our trek to the monorail station? Where did they watch the show from – Test Track? (I bet it’s awesome to hit the outside portion of Test Track while the fireworks are going off.) It’s a good thing we’re fleet of foot, and practiced in dodging crowds (just try getting to the R train on Canal Street on a busy weekend); we manage to beat the bulk of the crowd out of there, and make it back to the Contemporary by 10:30.

Phew! Another long, amazing day of exploration, exhilaration, and fun. And we’ve only just begun! (Cue the Carpenters – or don’t, if you don’t happen to enjoy your music dripping with cheese, as I do.) We collapse into bed, delirious and content, ready for the week of fun still ahead…

 

[Circusgirl]

I agree with you about the current IllumiNations. The old show from 15 or so years back was very warm and delivered more of a message. It also used the whole World Showcase (except Morocco) and featured each of the countries during the show. The spotlight country would light up, there would be matching music and somehow it was all very unifying and emotional. It was also extremely impressive that they used the whole WS as a gigantic theater. The part I liked best about the show this year was Walter Cronkite's holiday tag. The current show is a little like the overdose of fire dancers at Burning Man - things aren't cool just because they're on fire. There has to be an actual compelling story or talent involved for it to be cool!

Hooray for booking your 2009 trip!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Congrats on booking your 2009 trip!!

I haven't seen Illuminations so I can't offer my opinion here. I do hope to see it on our next trip.

 

[TigerKat]

I guess I'm just a sucker for anything Disney, I cry every time I see Illuminations or Wishes.

 

[girlbomb]

I agree with you about the current IllumiNations. The old show from 15 or so years back was very warm and delivered more of a message. It also used the whole World Showcase (except Morocco) and featured each of the countries during the show. The spotlight country would light up, there would be matching music and somehow it was all very unifying and emotional. It was also extremely impressive that they used the whole WS as a gigantic theater. The part I liked best about the show this year was Walter Cronkite's holiday tag. The current show is a little like the overdose of fire dancers at Burning Man - things aren't cool just because they're on fire. There has to be an actual compelling story or talent involved for it to be cool!

Hooray for booking your 2009 trip!

Circusgirl, I wish I'd seen the old version! It sounds great. And I should have suspected you'd know something about Burning Man -- my old friend Cal, the Disney fan, was also a huge burner, and talked often about the similarities (and, bien sur, the differences) between the two.

Also, thanks for the hooray on our upcoming trip! I hope you've got one on the horizon too...

Congrats on booking your 2009 trip!!

I haven't seen Illuminations so I can't offer my opinion here. I do hope to see it on our next trip.

Lady Lallie, I would give you the whole indignant "WHAT?! YOU'VE NEVER SEEN ILLUMINATIONS?!" spiel, but I assume you've heard it plenty of times before. I hope you'll love it! It really is spectacular.

I guess I'm just a sucker for anything Disney, I cry every time I see Illuminations or Wishes.

See, TigerKat, that's the kind of response I'd love to have! I feel like such a snob and an ingrate for not appreciating the show the way others do. I definitely feel like I'm missing out on some magic. We'll give it another shot next year.

Thanks again for the replies. I hope to post another installment tonight, after we get home from the in-laws. And I hope everyone's looking forward to a beautiful Christmas Eve!

 

[sfacowgirl87]

Alrighty, so I'm caught up and ready for more! My husband just sprung the news...we're goin to WDW next Dec. and I wanna hear all about what it's like around the Holidays!

 

[girlbomb]

Alrighty, so I'm caught up and ready for more! My husband just sprung the news...we're goin to WDW next Dec. and I wanna hear all about what it's like around the Holidays!

Woohoo! Welcome, sfacowgirl; I hope you'll like December at Disney as much as we have.

But I should say -- spoiler alert! -- the crowds were much heavier than they were in 2005 and 2006; they'd gone up a little last year, but were really much more apparent this year. We don't know what to expect for next year, but we decided to take our chances and enjoy our annual visit at its traditional time. Plus, I had a good time meeting certain Circusy people at the MegaMouseMeet, and I'd like to overlap with that crowd again. And, it's only...let's see...345 days away!

 

[Circusgirl]

Circusgirl, I wish I'd seen the old version! It sounds great. And I should have suspected you'd know something about Burning Man -- my old friend Cal, the Disney fan, was also a huge burner, and talked often about the similarities (and, bien sur, the differences) between the two.

Also, thanks for the hooray on our upcoming trip! I hope you've got one on the horizon too...

I took advantage of the bounceback to book another September trip. I have an annual pass again, and the bounceback rates were as good as anything I got last year after investigating all possible deals. I plan on visiting again in December as well, 'cause you can't beat the company or the holiday scene! I might shift my dates a little for December if I were basing it only on crowds, but the fun of connecting with people at MouseFest trumps other considerations.

Now for the extra fun news. I have an annual conference in Orlando in January and I've tacked on a few days at the World at the end, so I'll be back in the Magic zone in a few weeks! I'm going to Segway at WS, and stay at the Polynesian again. It made it so much easier to come home last week knowing I'd be zooming back in no time. We've had a total snow disaster here since I got back and I have missed most of the special holiday things that I do, so the January trip is especially comforting.

Happy Holidays everybody!

 

[TigerKat]

Now for the extra fun news. I have an annual conference in Orlando in January and I've tacked on a few days at the World at the end, so I'll be back in the Magic zone in a few weeks!

Lucky woman!!!!!...and lucky us...another TR!

 

[girlbomb]

I took advantage of the bounceback to book another September trip. I have an annual pass again, and the bounceback rates were as good as anything I got last year after investigating all possible deals. I plan on visiting again in December as well, 'cause you can't beat the company or the holiday scene! I might shift my dates a little for December if I were basing it only on crowds, but the fun of connecting with people at MouseFest trumps other considerations.

Now for the extra fun news. I have an annual conference in Orlando in January and I've tacked on a few days at the World at the end, so I'll be back in the Magic zone in a few weeks! I'm going to Segway at WS, and stay at the Polynesian again. It made it so much easier to come home last week knowing I'd be zooming back in no time. We've had a total snow disaster here since I got back and I have missed most of the special holiday things that I do, so the January trip is especially comforting.

Happy Holidays everybody!

Great news for us all! The Segway tour of the World Showcase is so much fun! I hope you'll love it. And we'll cross our fingers that next December will be slower -- in the meantime, I'll be very interested in hearing about the January crowds when you're down there soon!

 

[girlbomb]

Merry Christmas Morning, friendly folks! I hope everyone is enjoying a lovely holiday. We set the parade to tape and went to the gym -- where we watched the parade on TV! But we look forward to getting home tonight after the festivities, and watching it in full, without sweat in our eyes and lungs bursting. In the meantime, here's:

Day Three: Sunday, December 7: All I Want for Christmas is to STAY HERE FOREVER AND NEVER LEAVE. EVER.

Today’s going to be a great day. We know this, because we’re here at Disney World! And today is one of our favorite Disney days: Animal Kingdom day, followed by dinner at Boma. YUM.

We allow ourselves to “sleep in” to the extravagant hour of 7am. Then, despite a truly lousy night of sleep for us both (anxiety dreams for me, restlessness for Bill), we spring up and get ready for the day ahead. We’re out of the room by 8, and take our first trip to the Contemporary’s new version of the Grab n’ Go – I’m sure it’s much better than the old version, with the hot food and everything, but we both stick to yogurt and fruit from the refrigerated section, so we wouldn’t know.

We’ve been burned by busses to AK before, so we always budget for a cab on our one annual AK day – today, it costs us $22, without tip, which is hefty, but we do get to avoid the aggravation of waiting over forty minutes for a bus that then takes forty minutes to get to the park.

Here’s a handy word of advice for you: If you see us lined up for the turnstiles in the morning, choose any other line besides the one we chose. Because we will always be standing in the line behind the person who cannot operate the turnstile. This person may be the three-year-old who insists “I wanna do it!”, and then can’t reach the slot to insert her card; this person may be the gentleman who doesn’t get the whole “put your finger here, where it says, ‘put finger here’” concept. This person may even be the cast member who can’t get the darn thing to work. I’m just saying, if you see us, don’t follow us. We often fail at line-choosing. Today, we’re smart enough to act fast when we see a new turnstile line forming; we halve our wait by jumping on it as soon as the CM removes the turnstile cover. And then the turnstiles open, and the Stroller Mom in front of us can’t get it together, and we sit there, stuck behind her, watching as people stream past us through the gates.

But again, that New York City walk gets us far, and as soon as we can get through the 'stile, we get poised for the opening show right up against the right-hand rope, in front of the tip board. Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, and Mickey welcome us to the park, and we take off after two lovely young CMs from South Asia, who are doing their best to keep everyone from trampling each other on the way to Everest.

Everest! If you’d have told me when I first saw the thing that I’d be riding it and loving it, I’d have probably peed (to be fair, I do have the aforementioned small bladder) (sorry, TMI). It’s definitely the most intense ride I’ve ever enjoyed – I’ve been on scarier coasters, but never returned to them over and over, as I do with Everest. I love everything about this ride – the wholly entertaining queue, waiting on the platform while watching the puffs of steam from the train's engine illuminated by the sun streaming through the grates in the roof, the sound of birds as you enjoy the first, gentle loop before the trek uphill, the view from the rise, the thrill of the descent, and even in “B” mode, the Yeti is scary enough for me! Bill and I get in six consecutive rides using the standby line (stopping after ride number two for Fips) in the first hour minutes after the park opens: at that point, the standby line gets a little too long, and we decide to head off to enjoy other areas of the park.

But not before seeing this:

And this:

And…this thing…yikes…

We’re disembarking from our last Everest trip in front of a boy around six or seven years old and his grey-haired grandfather, when the boy looks up at his granddad, taking his hand and beaming hugely, and says, “Grandpa, wasn’t that awesome?” And Grandpa smiles back and affirms, “Awesome!”

And a tissue makes its way out of my fanny pack. Must be a lot of pollen in the park today…

We head over to Dinosaur, enjoying the sights and sounds of the park along the way, but not as much as we enjoy the sight and sound of an eight-year-old girl wearing Playboy bunny flip flops (uh…), who expounds on her understanding of evolution as she stands behind us in the five-minute line: “Adam and Eve came first, and then the dinosaurs came after.”

Ah, Disney World! You allow us to experience so many other cultures, including the parts of American culture we only get to see on TV. We like to think we’re not insulated from the rest of the world, here in the city, but we sure are. We may ride the subway everyday with people from places like China, Korea, Pakistan, Poland, Cameroon, Ecuador, the Philippines, and Russia (and that’s just one car, just this morning), but we rarely get to interact with people who believe more fervently in Adam and Eve than they do in dinosaurs. It expands the mind, it does. Alas, we do not get the chance to overhear more before we’re shuttled into the pre-show, and then loaded into our time machines, for a jouncing, lurching ride through prehistory.

Question: If the dinos from Dinosaur met the dinos from Ellen’s Energy Adventure, who would prevail? The Ellen dinos are bigger, I think, but the Dino dinos are meaner. Especially the one that’s eating the smaller dino – awwww! I don’t like that part at all. I’m totally against species-on-species violence.

One day, we’re going to slow down long enough to watch the security camera footage they show on the monitors after the ride, and see that wily dinosaur sneak around the building. But today, we’re racing over to Camp MinnieMickey to see the Friends of the Lion King show, which we’ve never seen. We arrive at 11:05 for the 11:30 show, and it looks like we’ll have no trouble getting a good seat; when the doors to the theater open at 11:20, I have just enough time to locate a spot with Bill, then run to the ladies’ room and back to claim it.

First-timers’ review: Thumbs up from me; thumbs sideways from Bill. We both love the acrobatic monkeys (those guys really sell it with their facial expressions); we think the costumes and sets are terrific, and the dancing and singing (even if it’s prerecorded) are top notch. Of course, I am a sucker for the parade of kids at the end. Bill is less impressed, especially after last year’s viewing of the Nemo show, which has the benefits of a sequential and complete storyline, amazing production values, and terrifically engaging actors. I know that Nemo vs. FOTLK is a tough decision for many visitors, and I’d be hesitant to recommend one show over the other to someone else, as individual tastes vary so much. But for us, it’s Nemo all the way.

(More AK coming soon! Merry Christmas, and thanks for reading!)

 

[TigerKat]

Great installment! Not sure why but we just weren't impressed with Nemo, maybe it was a bit too long for us. FOTLK is one of our faves every year and I too love dem monkey boys! Merry Christmas to you both!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Merry Christmas!!

While I reading your update it reminded me that I taped the parade as well so I am off to watch that soon!

I haven't seen Nemo yet but I do enjoy Lion King, it's fun to watch. I'm a roller coaster chicken and I haven't been on Everest yet, I'm scared. I haven't quite decided if I will brave it or not.

 

[sfacowgirl87]

I'm a roller coaster chicken and I haven't been on Everest yet, I'm scared. I haven't quite decided if I will brave it or not.

Lady,
My husband is the biggest chicken of them all. It was everything I could do to get him on Rockin' Roller Coaster and he's already warning me that he will NOT get on the Tower of Terror again...but he absolutely LOVED Everest. He can't wait to go back!!!!!!! It's really not that bad!!!

 

[girlbomb]

Great installment! Not sure why but we just weren't impressed with Nemo, maybe it was a bit too long for us. FOTLK is one of our faves every year and I too love dem monkey boys! Merry Christmas to you both!

Merry Christmas, TigerKat! Yeah, I would definitely hesitate to recommend one show over the other, as everyone has their own preferences. In my book, both are great, so you can't lose!

Merry Christmas!!

While I reading your update it reminded me that I taped the parade as well so I am off to watch that soon!

I haven't seen Nemo yet but I do enjoy Lion King, it's fun to watch. I'm a roller coaster chicken and I haven't been on Everest yet, I'm scared. I haven't quite decided if I will brave it or not.

Merry Christmas, Lady Lallie! Hope you enjoyed the parade. That Mary Poppins dance number was pretty cool -- with all that arm action, they almost looked like NYC street dancers!

And I too was nervous about Everest at first. Again, I would never try to tell someone what they will or won't enjoy, for fear of steering them wrong. But you can usually trust in Disney; even their scary rides are gentler than most. And the scary parts are over quickly!

Lady,
My husband is the biggest chicken of them all. It was everything I could do to get him on Rockin' Roller Coaster and he's already warning me that he will NOT get on the Tower of Terror again...but he absolutely LOVED Everest. He can't wait to go back!!!!!!! It's really not that bad!!!

sfacowgirl87, I'm glad your husband had a good time on Everest! I know that it really boosted my confidence to be able to ride rides I didn't think I could handle at first. Tower of Terror scared the heck out of me the first few times; now I think it's like a gentle toss in the air by a strong uncle when you were a kid.

And now, Day Two, Part Two: Never, Ever Leaving

After seeing the Lion King show at AK (we were lions, by the way, grrrrrrrraargh!), it’s time for lunch. Bill waits on line at the Yak & Yeti counter service, while I go score us another set of Fips for Everest to match the ones in our pockets. I get back in time to watch the poor cashier struggle with a couple who are using the Disney Dining Plan without understanding how it works. Much like our turnstile luck, our lunchline luck always seems to put us in proximity to folks who either don’t know what they want to eat (“Hon? Should I get the burger, or the chicken? The burger? You sure? I was thinking the chicken. What do you want to drink?”), or don’t know how to pay for it with the DDP. Fortunately, Disney CMs are trained in patience – if these folks tried to pull this at the McDonald’s on Sixth Avenue, they’d get screamed at by a fourteen-year-old in a hairnet with fake fingernails the size of canoes.

But eventually, we get our order (sweet and sour pork and an egg roll for Bill, mandarin chicken salad with no chicken for me), and find a table in the back, which is a pleasant place to sit and munch. I wish I’d ordered two of the salads, as one doesn’t do much to make a dent in my hunger – next time, I’ll know better. The salad is really yummy; much better than last year’s greasy shrimp lo mein.

We stop on our way back to Everest to watch the gibbons for a few minutes – the mom is hugging the baby while the dad looks on, munching on a stalk of something green. Then we use our first Fip on another ride up and down and around the mountain. I always wind up screaming on the big drop, which turns into a laugh as we careen around the turns: “Aaaaaaaahhhh! Hee hee hee hee hee!”

Last year, we missed the Maharajah Jungle Trek, so we take a trek through the ruined palace (man, I love the sets here; I could spend hours just gawking at the frescoes – not to mention the tigers!); then it’s back to grab yet another set of Everest Fips, as standby is posting a 50 minute wait. I wish all parks were like AK in allowing you to get new Fips before the window on your first one opens; we always read each Fip carefully to see when we can get our next one, and at AK, it’s often a pleasant surprise.

It’s the height of the afternoon, so we decide to just poke around and look at stuff while the attractions are mobbed. We mosey around to the Tree of Life, looking for the elusive trail by the exit I’ve read so much about, and we notice the 5 minute posted wait time for It’s Tough to be a Bug. So we walk into a practically empty theater lobby, wondering where everybody else is right now, but glad it’s not here.

Fun show! But not for some of the kids in the audience, who have to be removed, screaming in fear. I wish everyone of every age could enjoy it as much as we do.

After the show, we locate the trail – at least, I think we do. It’s kind of short, with only a few exhibits, right? None of the promised animals are making themselves apparent, but it’s pleasant to stroll around anyway. Then we make our way over to the Pagani trail for more strolling/animal viewing.

It’s a little more crowded at this trail than at Maharajah, but we still enjoy our trip through the various habitats. At the hippo pool, I am reminded of the t-shirt I saw recently, with a bunch of hippos eating white marbles, and one of the hippos saying, “Man, I could eat these all day.” (It’s a Hungry Hungry Hippos joke, for those of you born after 1975.) We want to ask the nearby animal expert if these hippos are, in fact, hungry, or if they are well-satiated, but we figure he’s probably heard enough Hungry Hungry Hippo jokes to last several lifetimes.

After the Pagani trail, we take the railroad to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, where I am very much hoping to pet a sheep and/or a goat. I know, the petting zoo is for kids. But I can’t be the only “adult” who wants to pet the animals. This theory is borne out when Bill follows me into the pen for some sheep/goat petting. They’re such sweet and gentle animals, and they humor us with such patience, serenely chewing their cud as we pet and praise them – “Nice goatie goat goat goat. What a handsome goatie goat you are.” I wonder how they stay so calm with all the shrieking kids chasing after them with brushes in their hands. And I really appreciate the chance to commune with them for a few minutes, before we wander off to thoroughly scrub our hands, and check out the other exhibits.

There’s a CM giving a talk about snakes, while an example of the species winds around her shoulders; the vet stations are all unoccupied for the day, but we look at all the static displays, and take a few minutes to marvel at the complexity of running an animal habitat this large, varied, and well-visited. Then, on our way back to the train, we run into a talking trash can, who’s mystifying and delighting all the kids in sight.

Once back in Africa, we stop at the snack stand – Bill gets a jalapeno cheese pretzel (equally as good as the cream cheese one in Tomorrowland) , and I get a cheese/fruit plate, which I’m picking from as we walk back towards Everest to use some Fips and score some new ones. On our way to our eighth Everest of the day, DeVine is dong her thing, and the walkway is completely jammed with people who have stopped dead in their tracks to whip out their cameras. Even though we haven’t waited for any of the rides all day, the park is still noticeably more crowded than we’ve seen it in years past, and right now it’s a bit of a squeeze to get through the path. What must it be like in summer, when it’s even more crowded, as well as hot? I don’t want to know!

So we ride up and down the mountain again – a trip hasn’t lost any of its appeal, despite the numerous repeat visits – and head back towards Dinoland. We’d decided to skip Nemo this trip in favor of Lion King (and rides), but I do look longingly at the theater as we pass, and remember how fun and astonishing we found the show last year. The wait for Primeval Whirl is 50 minutes (as it was earlier in the day, when we rode Dinosaur), which is way too long for that ride, in our book, but Triceratops Spin looks like a walk-on – indeed, we only have to wait one cycle to be seated in a Triceratops of our own. I don’t care how kiddie these rides are; I like seeing the park from on high and snuggling next to my Shmoo.

We check out the gift shops in Dinoland – the only place I will see a stuffed Wall-E all trip, which I should snag for my friend Dave’s daughter, but I don’t, mistakenly thinking that I’ll see more of him at other stores. I LOVED this movie, despite spending most of the first forty-five minutes weeping over how lonely and sweet Wall-E was; they definitely need more Wall-E swag in the parks! I would see a stuffed Eva in a few places, which was cool, but where are the Wall-E pajamas? In, say, a women’s size 4?

Then we walk the Cretaceous trail, where Bill makes a new friend:

“Honey, I found this dinosaur, and he followed me home. Can we keep him? I wanna keep him!”

“Now Shmoopie, I don’t think the cats want us to bring home a dinosaur. Shmoo – let go of the dinosaur. Let go…Shmoopie, I know he’s your friend, but other people want to see the dinosaur too, so…Shmoopie, we discussed this ahead of time, remember? I told you, we weren’t going to be able to get everything you want, remember? And you said you understood, and you wouldn’t…aww, don’t be sad, Shmoo. The dinosaur will miss you too, but the dinosaur likes living here in Florida. He wouldn’t like it in New York. No, we can’t move here and stay with the dinosaur. Because we can’t! Now come on, we have to go to the safari before it closes. Come on, Shmoopie. Don’t you want to see the other animals? We’ll come back and see the dinosaur again later. Look, Shmoo, I think I see Mickey! Over that way!”

Okay, so the conversation doesn’t really go that way. But we do have a moment of dissent here – Bill wants to go to the Oasis, and I want to see the safari. We think the safari will close before the Oasis, so we head towards the safari, and decide to see the Oasis afterwards. But it’s after 4 now, and I’m nervous that by the time the safari’s over, the Oasis will be closed. So I spend the entire ten-minute wait fretting over whether we made the right choice, if it was selfish of me to suggest one thing when I knew Bill wanted another, etc.

The safari is a little disappointing this late in the day, as many of the animals are AWOL (no lions, boo! No hippos, either well-fed or hungry!), and I am looking at the time, thinking, “I screwed up our chance to see the Oasis.” And sure enough, when we take a post-safari walk through the Oasis, we see that many of the promised animals are not in their enclosures – they’ve probably been taken back to their pens for the night. We do see two adorably plump teenage girls wearing ultra skimpy tops and low-cut jeans with their thongs hanging out in the back, though, so the animal-watching isn’t totally in vain. When in Disney, you can always count on being entertained by the human animal.

The sun is going down, and I know that all the parks are beautiful at dusk, but wow. AK is really, really beautiful at dusk:

We walk back to Everest to get and use some more Fips, and it’s stunning in the evening – scarier, too, because the inside of the mountain is so dark. Then we jump on the single rider line for another trip – not as good as being next to Bill, and I’m sure the guy sitting next to me agrees, as he is now deaf in the ear facing me. We walk towards the gibbons again, and just hang out on a bench for a few minutes, overlooking the water and relaxing. Then another set of Fips mature, and it’s back to Everest, to scream my throat raw some more.

One last ride on Dinosaur, and two final trips on Everest (there’s nobody waiting in line, so the CM refuses our Fips – “save ‘em for souvenirs,” he says), and then the park is closing. All the stands are closed, and there’s nobody on the walkways, except a bundled-up CM obviously on her way to clock out for the day. We head towards the gate, very satisfied by our day of animal- and people-watching, Everest-riding, goat-petting, and show-gawking (and snacking – I know at one point we stopped for a frozen banana and an ice cream sandwich, but my notes are failing me, so I don’t know when that was).

The line for the AKL bus is really long, so we treat ourselves to another cab, and hop over to the resort in short order. We check in at the desk at about 7:15 for our 7:30 Boma ressie, but there are no pagers available; I have a short crisis of confidence in our pagerless check-in, and don’t want to wander to lobby checking out all the amazing art in case we miss the dinner bell, but we are summoned by the lovely Vicki from Harare within a few minutes, and seated quickly. Bill orders a beer, I get a club soda, and then it’s off to the buffet!

I promised myself that I would take this meal slowly, but I am so hungry and enthused that I gobble two plates of food, and still want more! I force myself to sit for a few minutes to let the food hit bottom, unable to decide if I wanted a third plate of “real food” or dessert. The food here is so yummy that it almost beats out dessert, but in the end, I go with the sweets. Let’s not discuss what's on my plate – suffice it to say, there's a lot of it. Today, I fail at diet.

This was supposed to be an Adventurer’s Club night, until the AC was CLOSED AUGH SAY IT ISN’T SO GRUMBLE COMPLAIN KVETCH! We just caught on to the AC last year, and LOVED it – it was definitely one of our top attractions in all of the parks. Well, it’s just as well, as we are dead tired by now, and round out a day of extravagance by cabbing it back to the Contemporary just in time to get undressed before a 9:30 showing of Wishes, easily viewable from our balcony.

Except I don’t see it, because I am dead asleep already! Until about 1:30 a.m., when my stress-related insomnia kicks in. I know that tomorrow’s Monday, and I have to carry my phone to the park so I can talk to various lawyers, brokers, and other interested parties about this real estate deal, which I am so not eager to do – I’m so upset that the deal is in jeopardy, so frustrated by things I can’t control, so worried about the text message I got from our catsitter that one of the kitties threw up (he’s fine; I was just busy freaking out over everything so I thought I’d throw that in too), so worried about everything.

By 3am, I wake up Bill and start crying to him about everything that’s wrong. And my ever-patient and loving partner calms me down and helps me get back to sleep by 5. But the damage has been done, and now the alarm’s set for 6:30 so we can open DHS tomorrow… will we make it, or have I (as I sobbed to Bill in the middle of the night) “ruined our vacation with my stupid anxiety, the way I ruin everything”? Stay tuned!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Wow. I really feel like I just spent some time in Animal Kingdom! You were Everest riding fools. I can't believe how many times you were able to ride.

I'm sorry about your anxiety in the middle of the night.

 

[distherapy]

I have spent the last 24 hours in a girlbomb daze... Thank you! I have managed to read your old trip report and your new one (I need more now!) and plow through the candy from my Christmas stocking...

Love your writing and your Disney joy. Can't wait for more!

 

[girlbomb]

Wow. I really feel like I just spent some time in Animal Kingdom! You were Everest riding fools. I can't believe how many times you were able to ride.

I'm sorry about your anxiety in the middle of the night.

Everest riding fools indeed! We know we only get one chance per year to have at it, so we take full advantage of it! And thanks for the sympathy on the anxiety -- I wish I could say that was it for the trip, but it recurred...

I have spent the last 24 hours in a girlbomb daze... Thank you! I have managed to read your old trip report and your new one (I need more now!) and plow through the candy from my Christmas stocking...

Love your writing and your Disney joy. Can't wait for more!

distherapy, thanks for spending part of your holiday with me! I don't know if I'll be able to post another segment tomorrow, but definitely Monday. Thanks again for reading!